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The biomedical engineering program provides training that is quantitative, emphasizes problem-solving and design, and treats phenomena from the molecular to the systems level. Required courses in mathematics, engineering, and science establish a strong foundation for biomedical engineering major courses.

Degree Requirements

Below are the degree requirements for students who are following Catalog Year 2024 or later. Students who are following Catalog Year 2023 or earlier should see the applicable resources in the Curriculum Planning Resources section below.

Students must complete a minimum of 48 courses, including the following. Only Social sciences/humanities and unrestricted courses may be taken P/N.

Mathematics (4 courses)

  • MATH 220-1, 2 (Single Variable Calculus)
  • MATH 228-1, 2 (Multivariable Calculus)

Basic Sciences (4 courses)

  • PHYSICS 135-2 (General Physics) plus lab 136-2
  • BIOL_SCI 201
  • CHEM 131 and 132 (General Chemistry) or 151 and 152 (General Chemistry) or 171 and 172 (Accelerated Chemistry) plus labs

Engineering Analysis (4 courses)

  • GEN ENG 205-1 (Computational Methods and Linear Algebra)
  • GEN ENG 205-2 (Linear Algebra and Mechanics)
  • GEN ENG 205-3 (Dynamic System Modeling)
  • GEN ENG 205-4 (Differential Equations)

Engineering Design and Communication (3 courses)

Social Sciences/Humanities Theme and Unrestricted Electives (12 courses)

See the McCormick theme requirement webpage for more information.

Biomedical Engineering Program (21 courses)

  • Basic Engineering (5 courses)
    • Take all of these courses:
      • BMD_ENG 220 Introduction to Biostatistics or IEMS 303 Statistics I
      • BMD_ENG 270 Fluid Mechanics or MECH ENG 241 Fluid Mechanics I
      • COMP_SCI 150 Fundamentals of Computer Programming 1.5 
    • Take 2 of the following 3 courses:
      • BMD_ENG 250 Thermodynamics or MECH ENG 222 Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics I
      • BMD_ENG 271 Introduction to Biomechanics
      • MAT_SCI 201 Principles of the Properties of Materials
  • Core (9 courses + 1 zero credit seminar)
  • Technical Electives (7 units)

    Take 7 units from the approved list on this pdf document.

    • Two units must be 300-level BME courses with 100% engineering topics
    • Three total units must be 100% engineering topics (the two above courses plus one more)
    • Only 1 unit may be a graded, independent research course
    • 100-level courses are not permitted

      

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Curriculum Planning Resources

The documents listed below outline degree requirements and will help Biomedical Engineering students plan for completing their degree. The following curriculum planning guides and forms are available:

Biomedical Engineering Curriculum

The bachelor of science in biomedical engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Biomedical Engineering Program Criteria.

Northwestern University BME Undergraduates FAQ